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Show Summary

In today\u2019s world, trying to get married has become... a hot mess. So, to all the COVID brides to have been, grooms and wedding professionals: you\u2019re not alone. Welcome to Bride To Have Been, a StudioPod original podcast hosted by Emily Lewis, with the purpose of building a community by sharing the reality of this new normal in the wedding industry. Let\u2019s keep inspiring each other and celebrate the thing we treasure the most: love.

Over two million couples get married every year, and the online wedding planning company Zola has helped more than a million of them. Despite all the left hooks the pandemic has thrown out this past year, Zola has worked to make couples feel taken care while struggling to decide whether to delay what is supposed to be the biggest day of their lives. From creating \u201cchange the date\u201d cards to providing top notch customer support and a community where brides-to-be can share and commiserate with each other, Zola\u2019s Director Of Communications Emily Forrest sits down with us to talk about the trends they\u2019ve seen and how they\u2019ve adapted to remain meaningful during the global pandemic.

Jump straight into:

(05:56) - Zola\u2019s top notch customer service - \u201cIf you sign up for Zola, you'll receive a lot of emails from Melissa. One of the number one questions that I get is, \u2018Is Melissa a real person?\u2019 And she is, I was just talking to her.\u201d

(09:00) - What Zola has changed in order to better support couples - \u201cWe introduced a product where Zoom is integrated into Zola, so if you have a wedding website with us, you can live stream it directly on your wedding website. It's just a lot nicer for couples who don't want to feel like they got married on Zoom.\u201d

(10:44) - On what Zola has seen changing during the Pandemic - \u201cIn a lot of ways, 2020 has really centered us around what is really important and what weddings mean and what marriage means and why that's so important and should be celebrated.\u201d

(21:49) - On looking forward  - \u201cThere is hope at the end of the tunnel. And I am looking forward to hopefully, later in 2021, seeing a burst of safe weddings where people can safely gather.\u201d

(23:49) - On couples getting creative - \u201cIn some way, this has really given couples more freedom to do what they want to do. And I think that that's a wonderful thing.\u201d

(27:40) - On surprising trends that haven\u2019t changed - \u201cOne thing that has been interesting to see is that a lot of wedding budgets are not necessarily changing.\u201d

Resources

Follow Zola on Instagram and learn more about their services on their website.

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagram, don\u2019t forget to use the #COVIDBrideTribe, and feel free to send us your COVID wedding stories. Bride To Have Been is a podcast brought to you by GiftPod and produced at StudioPod. Edits were made at Nodalab and music was produced by GaryOAKland. Don\u2019t forget to subscribe, rate and share with all of your fellow